The Curse of Ronald Moore

Battlestar Galactica starts back up tonight, and I can't help but to be worried.

Season 3.0 started strong, exploring some of the questions that ought to have been asked in season 2.5. Questions like, "Hey, what about those thirteen cylons?" and "Was there a point to the Pegasus?" (The answers to which were, "It's a secret!," and "No.") Season 3.5 promises to pick up by asking the questions that were supposed to be in season 3.0. Expect questions like, "Why exactly does everyone hate Baltar so much?" and "Was there a point to the Cylon baby?"

Hell if I know the answer to the Baltar question. There are a lot of reasons why all of humanity could hate Baltar. Do they know that he's been a Cylon tool all along? Sharon could have told them, after all. But she wouldn't have known about the nuclear device he willfully gave to Suicide Sharon. Or perhaps they're just very angry about him being a bad president. It's hard to tell.

Silence is a new theme to the series. In the season 3.0's finale, Dean Stockwell missed his opportunity to tell Tigh that he slept with his wife. Religious Cylon was quite mute on the subject of finding a site that would lead him to his density. The Sharon meets Sharon scene was limited to the same dialogue that we heard in previous episodes. "Why are you doing this? Also, we have your kid." And the return of Baltar was met with blank stares from the Battlestar Galactica crew.

This could change at any time, of course. BSG is an inconstant beast, and capable of leaping from subpar to terrific at a moment's notice. Still, I'm thinking the best way to watch the show is to pretend the metaplot doesn't exist. In any given episode, the characters are liable to say a lot of interesting things. You might discover that there are eight cylons left in the human fleet, or that a dead Cylon can still hear people speak around them. Minor but seemingly important characters will be introduced, like a civilian aerospace engineer, or some guy called Jammer. But when the episode's over, just set that information aside. Stop trying to guess which plot hooks ones mean something, and which are just going to be forgotten. The writers aren't keeping a big book of all the issues they need to resolve. The storyline's future is uncertain enough that most of the foreshadowing is going to be retconned anyway. When it's done well, you'll be pleasantly surprised. When it isn't, then you'll wonder where the Chief's religious background had been hiding for the last twenty episodes since it had been first mentioned. Both beat wondering every episode if they'll finally talk about whether cylon spines really glow during sex, of if it's only visible to television viewers.

The real question is whether I'm preparing to watch the show in the proper fashion now, or if I'm just lowering my standards.